Children's liturgical calendar activities

Written by misty barton

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The liturgical calendar, or church year, is a calendar used predominately by the Catholic Church to mark religious feasts and saints days. Movable feasts change date in accordance with Easter, other celebrations, like Christmas, occur on the same date annually. Both Christian and Catholic schools often celebrate events on the liturgical calender. Activities to celebrate feasts and saints days should be both edifying and fun for children.

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Making a Liturgical Circle

A liturgical circle or a circular liturgical calendar is a way to introduce children to the concept of a liturgical year. Help children to make their own calendar using a paper plate or a circle cut from construction paper or use a circle cut from poster board to make a larger calendar that can be displayed on a classroom wall or notice board. The liturgical circle or calendar is like a pie graph that cuts the circle into religious seasons. Help students to divide the circles into seasons, label the sections and colour them. While assembling the calendar discuss the colour used to symbolise the religious season and its significance.

Feasting

Host a celebration on a feast day. This is an excellent opportunity to have students prepare a presentation, or a craft to share and to invite students' families to join you in the classroom. Prepare a feast with food appropriate to the saint that you are celebrating. Read the story for the saint, and host an open discussion of the saint's life work and the reason for the celebration. Light candles and pray. There are often prayers included with a saint story that is particularly fitting for the occasion. This is best used on special occasions, to celebrate well known saints, or saint which is of a particular local importance.

Notice Board

In his book "School Year, Church Year: Activities and Decoration for the Classroom," Peter Mazar suggests using a notice board to celebrate saints' days for saints that are less well known. Children can read the saint story as part of their reading class and complete a simple craft activity that coordinates with the saint story. A copy of the saint story and their project can then be used to decorate the notice board until the next liturgical event.

Dioramas

Help students build their own Nativity scene during the Christmas season, and a image of Calvary during Easter festivities. Use a cardboard box as the basis for a liturgical diorama. Children can shape images to go inside the box from clay, paper, cardboard, ice cream sticks and other craft supplies. The importance of the project is to help students focus on the "reason for the season" by becoming involved in the celebration in a very hands-on way.